A grandmother’s wisdom

It was 25th November, 2004. A beautiful Eid morning. After our morning prayers, I was with my friends visiting our neighbours to greet them on the festive occasion. While at a friend’s house, I got the news – “Your maternal grandmother passed away”. My initial reaction was “No, it is not possible. How can it? She was healthy and happy“. Running back to my house, I had only one selfish thought in my head – Please let it be any one else, but not her. Please, let it be that I heard wrong. Please, not her.

It was the first close death I encountered and it affected me deeply. A guilt feeling remained in me and still do, for I feel I did not tell my Salaams and good-bye properly the last time I saw her. I wished I had hugged her tight. Only in retrospect do we know it was ‘a last moment’. Only later do we realize the importance of a past moment.

My grandmother was a strong, intelligent and beautiful woman.May it be herbal medicines, child care or household trivia, she always had sound knowledge and a well-informed opinion about it. Her soft smile, kindness and charitable ways won the hearts of everyone who knew her. To all the kids in the neighbourhood, she was “Chaachi”. Since I and my siblings lived outside India and visited only once a year, we were her favourite. She made sure there was every delicacy prepared, sweets and pickles made and kept mango and jack fruits saved just for us (even though it was off-season) and eagerly awaited the monsoons not exactly for the rain but for our arrival.

A decade later, I miss her soft smile that leads to wrinkling underneath her eyes. I miss her serene face. I miss her wise words.

Some of my favourite granny sayings :

  • Don’t skip your dinner. You will lose the weight of a pigeon. ( I used this logic when I wanted to shed a few pounds off while in college :D)
  • There will be more people but not more land. Hence buy land now ( She uttered this nearly 20 years back and this is quite apt now with the rising cost of real estate in Kerala)
  •  Plant teak and Mahogany as a child. You will thank yourself as an adult.

May she be blessed with the highest place in Jannah and may He reunite us again in His eternal blissful gardens.

(Linking it to ABC Wednesday and NaBloPoMo)

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0 Replies to “A grandmother’s wisdom”

  1. and I love your granny’s wise sayings…………..
    Plant trees and these are legacies for the future gen.
    Buy land and its a gold mine. so true.
    I too miss my grandma. She was a treasure trove of stories.

  2. What a beautiful tribute to your grandmother. I, too, loved my grandmother and she came to me once a couple of years after her passing just to let me know she was okay and thinking about me. Sounds weird, but it’s true.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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